BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Those who watched the UAB spring game on Saturday saw No. 49 on the White team in the offensive backfield a lot.

That was sophomore defensive end Chris Rabb, who continued his strong play from his freshman year, when he led the Blazers with 3.5 sacks. Rabb also had 6.5 tackles for loss and a team-best three quarterback hurries in 2012.

The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Rabb, from Hueytown High School, had two "touch" sacks in the spring game - and probably could have been whistled for more by referees - but his biggest play came when he sniffed out a Green team reverse, tackling Jackie Williams for a loss of 12 yards.

"He's one of our top players," UAB head coach Garrick McGee said. "We expect Chris to be in the backfield. We expect Chris to be behind the line of scrimmage making plays."

At Rabb's size, he doesn't come across as a defensive end and even looks like a safety, but his strength and pass rushing ability is what sets him apart.

"Chris, I think in high school, he would say that he's one of the most dominant players in Alabama high school football history," McGee said. "Pound for pound he's the most powerful guy on our team. He's going to be up close to 460-470 pounds on bench press. He's explosive, low to the ground and he understands how to play with leverage. He's got a motor."

Rabb said that new defensive line coach Kevin Peoples has helped him with his technique and gotten him to focus more on the outside rush, using his quickness, instead of going inside where his size may be a factor.

He's looking more and more like the player who dominated at Hueytown and earned multiple all-state honors throughout his prep career.

"As I'm getting older, the game's starting to slow down for me," Rabb said. "It's getting more to where I'm used to it. When I was a freshman, I was trying to catch up, but now it's starting to slow down for me."